Holy Cross Baseball Ready To Start 2007 Season

Feb 15, 2007

Feb. 15, 2007

By Jim WrobelSpecial to GoHolyCross.com

The 2007 Holy Cross baseball team returns 24 players and
welcomes eight newcomers to a team that will be led by an
experienced group of 10 seniors. "This is the biggest senior class
we've had since I've been here and we expect that their experience
and seasoning will pay dividends through our season and especially
when we get into conference play," said third year head coach Craig
Najarian. "I expect our seniors to be outstanding leaders and
examples to the rest of our program both on and off the field."

With the all important Patriot League season consisting of five
four-game weekend series, Najarian stresses to his team the
importance of playing hard and consistent every day. "There is a
lot of parity in the Patriot League so any team can emerge and win
the championship," said Najarian. "The winner will be the team who
plays the most consistent baseball and that is what we preach to
our team. You can't play at different levels and expect to be
successful. We need to be better at three things: limiting our
walks on the mound; our strikeouts at the plate and we need to be
consistent game to game. If we can do those three things there's no
reason why we shouldn't be right in the mix for the playoffs."

The Crusaders will prepare for Patriot league action by playing
in three game series with Lamar, Duke and Central Connecticut early
in the season. "That schedule is by design," said Najarian. "We
expect our experience playing in these series will help prepare us
for what lies ahead in conference play."

Another key factor in preparing for conference play will be
playing teams like Lamar Duke, Campbell and Davidson. "We're going
to be able to stretch out our season, get to some warm weather and
play some great teams," said Najarian. "That's going to simply make
us a better program."

Senior
co-captain Matt Blake

Seniors Matt
Blake and Norm
Roth will be co-captains as they both bring strong leadership
abilities to the team. "They both have outstanding qualities," said
Najarian. "Matt's work ethic is tremendous and I think that rubs
off on the younger pitchers we have on our staff. Norm's an
outstanding competitor who leads by example every single day."

Junior Kyle
Lister is expected to see playing time at first base and be
productive at the plate as he is coming off a season which saw him
hit two home runs and drive in 18 runs. Sophomore Tyler Stampone,
who was the first Crusader in the program's history to be named the
Patriot League Rookie of the Year, will move from third base to
second base where he played all through out high school. A member
of the All-Patriot League second team, he started 32 of the 35
games he played in last season, posting a .285 batting average with
a home run and 16 runs batted in.

Sophomore shortstop Jake Gorman was named
to the All-Patriot League second team last season as he started 17
of the 24 games he played in and totaled 19 hits and 15 runs batted
in. Senior Andrew Tenaglia
will move from first base to third base as last season he made 27
starts at first base. "Andrew is a former quarterback and has
always been a terrific athlete," said Najarian. "Because he's got
excellent hands and a strong arm we expect the transition to be a
smooth one."

The Crusaders have three senior outfielders in Jamie Aldrich, Norm Roth and Matt Perron that
all bring experience and speed to the outfield. Aldrich will be the
lead off hitter and is Holy Cross' biggest stealing threat as he
led the team in stolen bases last season. He is expected to have a
big year offensively as he is coming off a year that saw him rank
third on the team in hits (45) and runs scored (25), while he
finished fourth in batting average (.306).

Roth received the Ray Dobens Award for the most improved player
on the team last season as he played in 39 games with 38 starts. He
led the team in runs scored (32), ranked second on the team in hits
(46) and doubles (9), and finished third in batting average (.319)
and on base percentage (.380). Perron is an outstanding defensive
player with a lot of speed who brings a lot of flexibility to the
outfield in that he can play all three positions.

Junior catcher Brendan Akashian
is expected to have a big season both behind the plate and
offensively as he comes back from an injury that occurred last
season. In just 17 games last year he hit .333 with 18 hits, four
doubles, one triple, one home run and 12 RBI. His .333 batting
average ranked second on the team.

Sophomore Tim
Hughes will see time at catcher, first base and outfield, while
freshman Mike
Galvin will also see time behind the plate.

The Crusaders are set to begin the season on February 17-18,
when they travel to Beaumont, Texas, to face Lamar in a
doubleheader on Saturday and a single game on Sunday. The Crusaders
will then make a trip to North Carolina to take on Duke (March
3-4), Campbell (March 5-6) and Davidson (March 7-8). Holy Cross
will return to Worcester to play nine of its next 12 games at home
as the home opener will be against cross-town rival Assumption on
March 14 at Fitton Field. After a doubleheader at Central
Connecticut on March 17, the two teams will play a single game at
Fitton Field on March 18. The Crusaders then play a home game
versus Siena (March 21), a home-and-home series with Quinnipiac
(March 24-25) and then a game against Boston College (March 28).

Holy Cross kicks off Patriot League action when it hosts Navy
(March 31-April 1) in two doubleheaders. After two away
non-conference contests versus Massachusetts (April 3) and Harvard
(April 4), the Crusaders will host Lehigh (April 7-8) for four
games. Holy Cross will then hit the road for six games with
meetings with Northeastern (April 10), Hartford (April 11) and
doubleheaders with Army (April 14-15).

Dartmouth (April 18) will travel to Worcester for a game, while
the Crusaders host Bucknell (April 21-22) for four games and a
doubleheader with Brown (April 25). Holy Cross then concludes
regular season action with doubleheaders at Lafayette (April 28-29)
and another meeting with Assumption (May 1) at Fitton Field.

The Patriot League Tournament is slated for May 12-13.

College of the Holy CrossDepartment of Athletics 1 College Street Worcester, MA 01610